Marvels told by Greeks and by Christians
That marvellous things have at times appeared to men has been reported among the Greeks too, not only by those who might be suspected of making up myths, but also by those who have given great proof that they pursue philosophy genuinely and set out truthfully what has come down to them. We have read such things in Chrysippus of Soli, and some in Pythagoras, and also in some more recent writers who lived only yesterday or the day before, such as Plutarch of Chaeronea in his work On the Soul and Numenius the Pythagorean in the second book of On the Incorruptibility of the Soul.
Or is it that when Greeks tell such things, and above all those among them who are philosophers, what they say is no matter for mockery or laughter, nor fictions and myths; but when those who are devoted to the God of all things, and who, rather than speak a falsehood about God even in a word, undergo every outrage even to death, report appearances of angels as eyewitnesses, they are judged unworthy of belief and their words are not ranked among things that are true? But it is not reasonable to judge in this way who speaks the truth and who lies. For those who train themselves not to be deceived pronounce slowly and with caution, after much exact inquiry and examination of each matter, that these men tell the truth and those men lie in the marvels they report; since not all show themselves worthy of belief, nor are all clearly proved to have handed down fictions and myths to mankind.
Further, about the resurrection of Jesus from the dead this too must be said: that at that time one angel or two should have been seen announcing that he had been raised (Matthew 28:6; Luke 24:4–6) and that he cares for those who believe this for their own benefit, is no wonder. But that at all times those who believe in this way that Jesus has been raised, and who show as no small fruit of their faith a vigorous life and a change from the flood of evils, are not without angels who take hold of them and help them in their turning to God, does not seem to me unreasonable.
Greek
Παράδοξα δὲ πράγματα τοῖς ἀνθρώποις ἐπιφαίνεσθαί ποτε καὶ τῶν Ἑλλήνων ἱστόρησαν οὐ μόνον οἱ ὑπονοηθέντες αν ὡς μυθοποιοῦντες ἀλλὰ καὶ (οἱ) οἷον πολὺ ἐπιδειξάμενοι γνησίως φιλοσοφεῖν καὶ φιλαλήθως ἐκτίθεσθαι τὰ εἰς αὐτοὺς φθάσαντα. τοιαῦτα δ᾿ ἀνέγνωμεν παρὰ τῷ Σολεῖ Χρυσίππῳ, τινὰ δὲ παρὰ Πυθαγόρᾳ, ἤδη δὲ καὶ παρά τισι τῶν νεωτέρων καὶ χθὲς καὶ πρώην γεγενημένων, ὥσπερ παρὰ τῷ Χαιρωνεῖ Πλουτάρχῳ ἐν τοῖς περὶ ψυχῆς καὶ τῷ Πυθαγορείῳ Νουμηνίῳ ἐν τῷ δευτέρῳ περὶ ἀφθαρσίας ψυχῆς. ἢ Ἕλληνες μὲν ἐὰν τοιαῦτα διηγῶνται καὶ μάλιστα οἱ ἐν αὐτοῖς φιλοσοφοῦντες, οὐ χλεύη οὐδὲ γέλως τὰ λεγόμενα οὐδὲ πλάσματα καὶ μῦθοί εἰσιν, ἐὰν δ᾿ οἱ τῷ θεῷ τῶν ὅλων ἀνακείμενοι καὶ ὑπὲρ τοῦ μηδὲ μέχρι φωνῆς ψεῦδος εἰπεῖν περὶ τοῦ θεοῦ πᾶσαν αἰκίαν μέχρι θανάτου ἀναδεχόμενοι ὡς ἰδόντες ἀπαγγέλλωσιν ἀγγέλων ἐπιφανείας, οὐκ ἄξιοι τοῦ πιστεύεσθαι κρίνονται οὐδὲ οἱ λόγοι αὐτῶν ἐν ἀληθέσι κατατάττονται; ἀλλ᾿ οὐκ εὔλογον οὕτω κρίνειν τὰ περὶ ἀληθευόντων ἢ ψευδομένων. οἱ γὰρ τὸ ἀνεξαπάτητον ἀσκοῦντες μετὰ πολλῆς καὶ ἀκριβοῦς ἐρεύνης καὶ ἐξετάσεως τῶν κατὰ τοὺς τόπους βράδιον καὶ ἀσφαλῶς ἀποφαίνονται περὶ τοῦ τοὺς τοιουσδὶ μὲν ἀληθεύειν τοὺς τοιουσδὶ δὲ ψεύδεσθαι ἐν οἷς ἱστοροῦσι παραδόξοις, οὔτε πάντων τὸ τοῦ πιστεύεσθαι ἄξιον ἐπιδεικνυμένων οὔτε πάντων [τῶν] ἐναργῶς ἀποδεικνυμένων πλάσματα καὶ μύθους τοῖς ἀνθρώποις παραδεδωκέναι. ἔτι δὲ περὶ τῆς τοῦ Ἰησοῦ ἐκ νεκρῶν ἀναστάσεως καὶ ταῦτα λεκτέον, ὅτι τότε μὲν ἕνα ἢ δεύτερον ὦφθαι ἄγγελον, ἀγγέλλοντα αὐτὸν ἐγηγέρθαι καὶ προνοεῖσθαι τῶν ἐπὶ ὠφελείᾳ ἑαυτῶν περὶ τοῦ τοιούτου πιστευόντων, οὐ θαυμαστόν· ἀεὶ δὲ τοὺς τοιούτους τῷ ἐγηγέρθαι τὸν Ἰησοῦν πιστεύοντας, καρπὸν τοῦ πιστεύειν οὐκ εὐκαταφρόνητον ἐπιδεικνυμένους τὸν ἐῤῥωμένον βίον καὶ τὴν ἀπὸ τῆς χύσεως τῶν κακῶν μεταβολὴν, οὐ χωρὶς ἐφαπτομένων τῶν βοηθούντων αὐτῶν τῇ πρὸς θεὸν ἐπιστροφῇ ἀγγέλων γίνεσθαι, οὐκ ἄλογον εἶναί μοι φαίνεται.